Candidate found to inhibit malignant melanoma growth
Source: LABIOTECH, March 2023
Malignant melanoma is a relatively aggressive type of skin cancer. When detected early, it is usually treatable by surgical resection only, but metastases develop, often spreading to distant areas.
Currently, tumor thickness and the presence of ulceration are some of the known prognostic factors used as indicators of melanoma. Therefore, the discovery of markers to assess the malignant potential of melanoma more accurately may be necessary to develop appropriate treatments.
‘Cross talk’ between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is believed to orchestrate cancer progression through a variety of mechanisms. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) – key factors in the tumor microenvironment – in particular have been implicated in cancer cell progression. It has also been reported that exosomes, a type of small vesicles, produced by CAFs play an important role in cancer progression.